Ten years after bottling, the Second Growth releases the third and final box of its 10th Anniversary collection, pairing Cos d’Estournel 2016 and Pagodes de Cos 2016 in a Paulownia case.
A collection is often judged by the way it chooses to end. After the editions devoted to the 2010 and 2015 vintages, Cos d’Estournel, a Second Growth in 1855, closes its anniversary collection with a third and final instalment: Cos d’Estournel 2016 – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition, which brings together two wines kept at the château in optimal conditions since bottling, just as they enter their ideal drinking phase.
The principle of the collection lies in its stance: to reveal, exclusively, vintages that have reached maturity rather than release them as soon as they are made. Kept at the château since bottling, Cos d’Estournel 2016 and Pagodes de Cos 2016 benefited from ten years of evolution in optimal conditions before this release — time that now allows them to express the full harmony of the vintage, carried by a freshness and complexity that have patiently emerged over the years.
The box contains two bottles of Cos d’Estournel 2016 and one bottle of Pagodes de Cos 2016, presented in a Paulownia case, a light and resistant wood chosen notably for its environmental qualities and its ability to be stacked in a cellar. This final instalment thus joins the earlier editions devoted to the 2010 and 2015 vintages, completing a collection conceived from the outset to last rather than to be fleeting.
Without giving up the exceptional ageing capacity that characterises the estate, Michel Reybier, owner of Cos d’Estournel, states that a great wine can also offer immediate emotion. Ten years after its bottling at the château, Cos d’Estournel 2016 shows a fully accomplished balance, inviting to be tasted at the moment it clearly expresses all its complexity. Composed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the wine is distinguished, according to the estate, by a graceful presence without being understated, ample without excess opulence. Pagodes de Cos 2016, a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46.5% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 0.5% Cabernet Franc, shows for its part a velvety, silky colour, carried by fine and complex tannins.
The 2016 vintage will be remembered as one of the most singular climatic scenarios of recent decades: after a cold and particularly wet spring, summer settled in durably with heat and drought, causing significant water stress until the welcome rains of September. In this demanding context, careful observation of the vineyard and the decisions taken throughout the season — management of grass cover, soil work, leaf removal — made it possible to preserve the freshness of the berries and to guide each plot towards full maturity. The Cos d’Estournel 2016 – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition box is available online at millesima.fr, at the observed public price of 540 euros.
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